Day 1 2008 Fireball International –World Championship – Thailand
Day 1 of the worlds saw perfect conditions for the Fireball Class, with 12-16 knots and beautiful warm water.
The first race started under a black flag on the third attempt as there was a strong following tide. Matt Mee/Richard Wagstaff(GBR) started well and went left of middle up the first beat to be first to the first mark. Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead (AUS) rounded second just ahead of Peter Inns/Chris Went(AUS). Down the reach, Mee/Wagstaff got out to an unbeatable lead and Richard Estaugh/Rob Gardener(GBR), current World Champions, got to third. The top three held their positions until the finish, but the rest of the fleet had a very close race with positions changing all the time. Robin Inns/Joel Coultas, Australian National Champions, and Tom Jeffcote/Mark Hogan, British national Champions were both over the line on the black flag and were disqualified from the race.
The wind had increased during the first race and the conditions for the second race were even more perfect. This time the tide was fairly slack and the fleet got away on the first start. David Giles/David Mason(GBR) had a good first beat and rounded ahead of Gareth Owen/Robert Thompson(CAN) and David Wade/Ben McGrane(GBR). Giles/Mason headed for the wrong wing mark and let Wade/McGrane get ahead with Nathan Stockley/Sam Muirhead(AUS) in second and Mee/Wagstaff in third. Mee/Wagstaff got ahead of Stockley/Muirhead on the run and the three boats finished in these places. Again the minor placings were very close with positions changing frequently.
Full details at www.fireball-international.com
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